Using “Fans-Only Content” to Grow Your Facebook Following
We are so thrilled to have Kira from Her New Leaf guest posting today! Her overall knowledge on social media and interacting with her followers is superb, check it out!
In this month’s Blog Brunch, we chatted about ways to increase your following on Facebook. I believe that the best strategy to increase a following anywhere, be it on your Facebook, your blog, or in your personal life, is to be generous. Be generous with what you have and what you know. Social media is all about sharing; the reason why people are on social networks like Twitter and Facebook is to gain and share knowledge. Your Facebook page, like your blog, should teach your followers something!
But how to you get Facebook users to “like” your page and keep them coming back for more? You need to create incentive for them to do so. Using a simple Facebook app, you can create two versions of your Facebook page – one for the general public who has not yet “liked” your page, and one for those wise, wise people who have clicked the thumbs up for you! Using this app, you can create a page with exclusive content that only your Facebook fans can see.
Step 1: Install the Static HTML app onto your blog’s page. (http://apps.facebook.com/static_html_plus/)
Step 2: In the “Public Content” box, enter what you wish those people who have not yet liked your page to see. You can enter a simple text greeting, or create a graphic to illustrate what your fans will receive when they “like” your page.
Step 3: In the “Fans-Only Content” box, enter what you want your fans to see once they have “liked” your page. You can include a personal thank you, download links, or even an entire blog post available exclusively to your fans! After someone has liked your page, they will have access to your fan-gated content at any time.
What should my fans-only content be?
It’s definitely a good idea to relate your fans-only content to you current blog topics. Are you a food blogger? Offer an exclusive, original recipe. Are you a style blogger? Share your top 10 trends for the summer? Can you make graphics? Give your fans a blog-planning calendar to plan their own posts.
How does fans-only content translate into long-term fans?
I was curious about this myself – couldn’t someone just “like” my page for free stuff, then “unlike” after they get it? Sure, they definitely could, but in my experience, they don’t. My blog’s Facebook fans have nearly doubled in one month since I added fans-only content to my Facebook page. Your Facebook page can have that success too! Be generous with your readers and your audience will continue to grow.
